Friendship Bought and Sold
by Daru Chan
Summary: When Mara and her crew were captured she could never have guessed the fate that awaited her. Instead of dyeing at the hands of an executioner her life was spared, only to find her life given to another. She had become a slave, and ironically enough Will T
1. Sold

Disclaimer:: Okay as much as I hate to admit this but I own nothing..oh wait I own Mara! Yay for

me! But anyways..the rest is sadly not mine, so please don't sue me I'm a poor collage student. 

  


Also sorry about the format,,I'm new to this internet story posting thing. 

  
  
  


Dear Diary, July,16, 1800

  
  


I have been sitting in this jail cell for three weeks. My oh so kind cousin the Commodore 

Norrington was nice enough to give me this parchment to write on to keep me busy. I could have

managed without I suppose but I would much rather be out on the ocean in my ship with my

crew. Unfortunately that would NOT be an option considering it took Cousin Norrington a

great deal of effort to capture me in the first place. 

  


My name would be Mara, nothing elaborate, simply just Mara. You must be curious to

know why my cousin Norrington was chasing to begin with and how I was caught. The answer

to the first question is simple and yet complicated at the same time. I am a pirate, captain of my

very own ship in fact, the Dragon Star. That is one of the reasons Norrington had been chasing 

me, the other is something far less easier to understand. We are in fact blood relatives, cousins

if you will. When I was very young, maybe 6 or 7, my real parents died. Of reasons I no longer

remember. George and Anna Norringtion, my aunt and uncle took me into there home as a favor

to my departed parents. Their son Andrew was not very fond of me. Being a girl and several

years his minor the scales were not in my favor. I also never took to the finer skills becoming of

a lady. I would much rather ride horses or play with my uncles vast collection of weaponry. I

guess the turning point was when I found out I was better then Andrew, or he found out I was

better then him. He was relentless in his taunts, and was always trying to beat me at something.

Even a small victory at a game of chess was a great thing for him. I am not a very competitive

person, and in general do not care compete. So it is very easy to understand that living like this

was almost unbearable. 

  


At the age of 16 I left home and became a pirate. It is hardly worth putting all of the

trials and hardships I went through to get where I am for there are to many to count. I have

been laughed at, beaten, rejected, ridiculed for being a women, and much more. All that is left

to say is that I have earned the respect of my crew, I am equal to ANY man in swordsmanship if

not better, and I am no fool when it comes to sailing or pirating.

  


To answer the second question, I was betrayed. Plain and simple. I had hired a new

member of the crew, but little did I know he was an agent of the Navy hired by my brother. To

put it simply, he gave away our location of berth and we were ambushed. So here I sit now in a

jail cell in Port Royal, my crew all hung and my ship destroyed. I await my sentence with little

enthusiasm.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Mara picked up and looked at what she had just written being careful not to smudge the

fresh ink. After re reading it she felt satisfied with what she had done and carefully signed her

name to the bottom. Her first journal entry. Odd that she would start it at such a time as now, but it

was not like she had anything better to do. She wiped the rest of the ink on the quill on the corner

of her sleeve and put it aside. Just as she was finishing there came the sound of heavy footsteps on

the stairwell leading underground to the jail cells. Mara closed her eyes and hoped it was not who

she though it was. The sound grew louder as it came closer, then suddenly the noise stopped as it

reached her cell. She opened one eye and peered up. 

  


It was Norrington that stood there sneering down at her. Quickly she opened both eyes and

stood up to challenge his gaze. It was no longer something she could do easily anymore. She had

been striped of everything, her crew, her ship, all of her weapons, and her dignity. They had even

gone as far to take all of her cloths and put her in a simple wight dress. 

  
  


"What can I 'elp you with dear cousin of mine?" Mara plastered a more then obvious fake smile

over her face.

  
  


"Shut up. I have no time to deal with you. I have your sentencing here."

  
  


"Oh goodie! I can hardly wait." Mara said sarcasm dripping from every word.

  
  


"Your not going to be hung if that's what you think...the governor thought it more fitting a

punishment for your crew to be hung and YOU to be sold into slavery. Odd don't you think? I

would have hung you at sea if I could, but the governor has a soft spot for women."

  


Mara felt her stomach twist and knot inside her. It did not matter what happened to her...but

her crew? It was all she could do to keep herself from crying out in anger and tears. Norrington

must have sensed this because a wicked smile crept up upon his lips.

  
  


"By the way my DEAR cousin, you will be meeting your new owner this evening. I do hope you

like him because he will own ALL of you." With that Norrington turned on his heals and briskly

walked back to the stairs and up out of sight.

  


Once out of sight Mara stop holding her tears in and felt them spill out over her cheeks.

Nothing not anything that she had ever done warranted such an attack on her person. To be a slave

to another human being...and to have live with the fact that she was the reason her crew was dead.

Mara collapsed onto the dirty cell floor nearly knocking her ink over onto her first journal entry.

For the first time her life she felt as if her whole world had come crashing down on her and that

she could not for another moment live in such a world as this. She fell asleep like this curled up on

the floor sobbing. 


	2. Master

Okay people thanks a bunch for all of your reviews. I never dreamed I would get so many reviews in one day! So for all of you I have decided to spend my day off writing. Yes so be thankful and keep reveiwing! I write more when people like my stuff!

  


By the way, at this time I would like to point out two minor mistakes I made in the first chapter...

  


1:: not the 1800 the 1600's wrong time period lol.

2:: When she says hired by her brother she means cousin! 

  


Now on to the next chapter!

  


Will walked swiftly through the winding back streets of Port Royal, he had promised to meet Elizabeth and her father at the Fort and he had lost track of the time, making him late. It was never good to be late especially when Will was told that he was going to receive a gift. He cursed himself in his head for being so stupid and picked up the pace, not wanting to keep them waiting any longer. He was supposed to meet Elizabeth before the sun set, but by the time he realized it, the sun had already begun to sink down into western sky streaking the horizon with reds, oranges, and pinks. If Will had not been in such a hurry he might of stopped to enjoy it but there was no time. 

It had been almost a month since his adventure with Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl and since then almost nothing had happened. He had planned on marrying Elizabeth, but her father had different ideas. The deal was that before the Governor was to give his blessing, Will had to earn enough money to support her, which was no easy task. Will had only been an apprentice blacksmith a month ago and who in there right mind would trust a beginner like that. Will had become more frustrated every day, but he kept telling himself that this was a test of his true love, and that he would do anything to overcome it. 

Finally in the distance Will caught a glimpse of Elizabeth and her father standing there chatting, however there was another figure standing there talking to them. Will's stomach churned inside him as he realized that the figure belonged to a certain Commodore Norrington. Norrington was Will's least favorite person especially after he had tried to steal Elizabeth's heart. Will started into a trot and finally reached the group. They were all standing outside the brig, an odd place for a meeting Will thought.

  


"Will! There you are I was beginning to worry, but I suppose there's no point in that since you can take care of yourself." Elizabeth smiled sweetly as she noticed Will arriving. Will only nodded in reply, still trying to catch his breath from all his hurrying. 

  


"There you are my boy." The Governor said with a cheerful grin. 

  


Before anyone could say anything else Norrington spoke up in that irritating matter of fact tone of his. "I see no point in just standing around here any longer. Shall I fetch her?" He asked.

  


"Her?" Will managed to get out.

  


"Oh you shall see! I hope she will help you with your blacksmith shop." Elizabeth chimed in. She stood next to Will and took his hand gently into hers as she smiled up at him. Will grinned down at her and gave her hand a small squeeze. 

  


Norrington turned abruptly and disappeared down into the darkness of the brig. Will's expression changed as Norrington left them to hold a puzzled look on his face at what was going on. She? Who was SHE and how was it supposed to help him? He wondered. At first he had been excited to come here, but after a few moments and Norrington had not returned, his heart fell as he realized what SHE was....

  
  


Mara had woken from her fitful sleep quite some time ago and now sat quietly on the cell floor leaning up against the wall opposite of the door separating her from her freedoms. She had managed to stuff her ink bottle, quill pen, and journal into one of her big sleeves and had composed herself so she was ready when Norrington came. Mara planned to give him no satisfaction by crying or carrying on, and instead of dwelling on it she focused on turning all of her energy into turning off any emotion that could give away how she felt. That was how she was going to face him.

  


Finally the sound of heavy footsteps came down the stairs and Mara was once again facing Norrington. This time however he said nothing to her as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a ring of keys. He unlocked the cell door and crossed the space between him and Mara. Mara looked up at him with an icy stare, but made no attempt to move or speak to him. She only glared. It was obvious that her gaze made him uncomfortable when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her painfully to her feet.

  


"Its time I be rid of you once and for all." Norrington said angrily as he turned and pulled Mara along with him down the corridor and up the stone steps to the outside. Outside it was still rather bright and Mara had to close her eyes for a second to adjust. Norrington still had a tight grip on her wrist and when she tried to pull it away he wrenched it back sending a wave of pain up her arm. Instead of attempting to pull away again Mara looked around at the group of people that stood before her. There was an older man wearing a very fancy set of trousers and jacket and a ridiculous looking wig, there was also a young woman Mara guessed more or less her own age in a very fancy green dress with wight lace trimming the edges. However the one that caught her attention was the man that stood next to the girl. He was not dressed in anything more then brown trousers, a wight shirt and a brown vest. He did not seem to fit in with the others and yet she sensed a bond between him and the woman.

  


"Well here she is. She's not good for cooking or cleaning but I'm sure she can help with grunt work. Just be careful with her she's tricky." Norrington said as he pulled out a pair of shackles and clamped them on both her wrists. "You'll need these."

  


"Um.....what's her name?" Was all that the boy managed to say. 

  


"She used to go by Mara, but you can call her what you wish. It matters not." Norrington said as he handed the key to Mara's irons over to the boy. 

  


"Well um, thank you very much. I'm sure this will be a great help." The boy did not sound at all sure of himself and Mara wondered if he expected in anyway that he would get a slave. Even though she was not pleased with being a slave, she was very happy that she had not gone with the older man or young girl. 

  


"I hope she is use full Will. It was father's idea." The young girl spoke up finally. 

  


"Do not worry Elizabeth. Anyways, I have a lot of work to do back at my shop, I should get going." Will smiled. Elizabeth said nothing, and only nodded sadly like she was expecting for something else to happen. 

  


Mara kept silent throughout the whole ordeal. What could she say? 'I'm sorry I have better things to do then be your slave' no that would not work at all and probably make the whole situation worse then it already was. This Will however, who was her so called master did not give her any reason to hate him...yet, but Norrington on the other hand, what she had planed for him no words could possibly describe. 


	3. Here

Ello again! Look its my third chapter and I know you all are probably wondering "what the hell? It took you this long and that all you've got?" Well yes it is. I have been experiencing something called writers block, however I am over it now and you shall all be excited that I have something interesting in store, at least as far as the plot line is considered. SO sit back and enjoy my third chapter and I promise not to take so long next time ^_^  
  
Will was lost in his thoughts by the time Elizabeth, her father, and Norrington finally said goodbye to him. Of course he had good reason to, he had just been given another human being as a gift. Will had never really believed in slavery, and now his thoughts raced between making his one true love happy and owning a slave. He stood there long after the others left in his own world, totally oblivious to the woman that stood next to him with her arms bound in iron.   
  
"Um excuse me....I know this must be really hard for you, but are we going back to wherever you live or are we just going to stand there and ponder the meaning of the universe in the cold?"   
  
Will jumped at the sound of the girls vaugly irritated voice. "Um...excuse me? I'm sorry Yes we should go back." He answered her, shaking himself out of his daze.  
  
"Okay good. If you don't mind I'm awfully hungry and since I'm sort of bound to you..." She said holding up her shackled wrists to make her point.   
  
Will took a hold of one of her wrists gently and started walking with her in tow. However he stopped after only a few paces and turned to face the her. "I'm sorry..." He pulled the key out that Norrington had given him and unlocked her bonds. He then slipped the key back into his pocket and tossed the shackles aside. "That's better, believe me I never wanted this to happened. What is your real name?" Will said with a heavy sigh and continued walking.   
  
"Its just Mara, Norrington did not lie about that." She said softly as they both walked through the streets.   
  
"Mara really? I don't think I have ever heard of that name before."   
  
"Of course not...it was given to me by a Buddhist priest when I was in China." Mara said rather mater of factorially.  
  
Will turned to her in surprise. "You've been to China?" He had not expected for her to say something like, but he found himself strangely interested.  
  
"Yes, I have. I have done some traveling, and just in case you were wondering it means 'inner strength' and 'stubborn'.  
  
"But you did not go through your whole life with that name did you?"  
  
"No I didn't, but I have no intention in telling you my real name, so call me Mara."  
  
Will laughed in spite of himself. "I think I known where the stubborn came from..."  
  
Mara tilted her head and gave him an exasperated look, but before she could say anything Will stopped in front of a large wooden door. Swinging up above the entryway there was a small wooden sign with "Turner" Painted on it and an emblem of a hammer and billow, the sign for blacksmith. Will pointed up and smiled, he was rather proud of his shop even though it was not exactly the best, but it was still his. He opened the latch and held the door open for Mara.  
  
It was completely dark inside, since the sun had long disappeared from the sky. At first Will hesitated, he knew is shop like the back of his hand but he was not sure where he had left the candles. He turned back to Mara.  
  
"Um...wait here, I shall get the light." With that he disappeared into the darkness of his shop.  
  
Mara's first thought was to run, but she knew it was pointless. There was nowhere to run, and Norrington would have found her again quickly. It was better to wait for the right opportunity, after all this Will was not so bad. She walked over and leaned up against the doorway. There was plenty of time to formulate a plan tomorrow, after all the day's trials and tribulations had tiered her beyond believe. As she stood there the darkness in the shop finally began to give way to the soft glow of candle light. Mara peered in to see the large workshop.   
  
Will held a candle in one hand and beckoned her inside. She stepped in quickly and bolted the door behind her. Once inside it was not as large as she had thought, but it was still rather nice. The space was filled with all of the usually blacksmith tools. The fire pit was centered in the middle and the tools were laid neatly along the wall next to a large washbasin. Mara also noticed that there seemed to be no living quarters which struck her as rather odd. Once she was done studying the room she turned to Will and finally gave him a good look now that she could see in the candle light. He was tall with a very light build, he must practice with the weaponry he made she thought. What struck Mara the most was his dark brown eyes which seemed to see right through you.   
  
Mara realized that she had been staring at him and quickly averted her gaze. "I was wondering if there was anything that I could eat...see I haven't eaten anything in a while..." She said quickly dodging any uncomfortable questions that might have occurred if he had caught her staring.  
  
Will looked sad for a moment and shook his head. "I don't really have anything, I have not had a chance to get down to the market lately. You can..." his voice trailed off. " I am sorry I did not mean to sound like that..."   
  
"Do not worry I guess that is why I am here anyways, its better then swinging from the gallows no?" She said with a rather forced laugh. It was true, buy groceries was better then the gallows, but still...for the first time since Norrington had brought her the news it finally sunk in. She really had become a slave. Mara crossed her arms over her chest and turned from Will.  
  
Will inwardly cringed at the sad faraway excpertion Mara had on her face. "Like I said I am sorry. This was not how I planned for things to happen." He quickly realized that he was not getting anywhere with this and decided to change the conversation, but he did not know to what. Luckily for him Mara did it for him.  
  
"Um...where am I to stay?" She had been looking about the workshop for a place that might be comfortable enough to sleep.  
  
Will thought a moment then went to the far wall and opened a door. Mara looked at it in surprise. She had not seen it there at all and wondered if it was its purpose.   
  
"In here..." He pointed inside. "You can sleep in here for tonight until I can make arraignment's to get another bed for you." He smiled.  
  
Mara walked over and looked into the small room. It was small and furnished very sparsely. The bed was pushed up against the side of the wall and a small wooden box next to the bed acting as a night stand. On the floor there was a large worn looking rug and opposite the bed there was a big dresser that probably contained Will's belongings. It was very clean and surprisingly very cozy inside.  
  
"You want me to stay here?" Mara asked a little surprised.  
  
"I have no where else to put you, and besides I can just sleep out here on the bench. After all you've had it harder them me." Will said with a warm grin. He was doing his best to be polite. "I think tomorrow if I can get some of the materials I can build another bed."  
  
Mara stepped into the cautiously. She was afraid to touch anything that was inside for it was a lot nicer then she had grown accustom to in the jail.   
  
"Anyways we should get some rest that way we will be ready for tomorrow." Will said with a slight nod.  
  
"Thank you..." Was all the Mara could manage in return as she watched him close the door and left her to her own devices. Mara walked over to the bed and sat down sinking into the deep cushioned bed. She giggled in spite of her self and shifted to lay down. It was unbelievably comfortable compared to the cold hard floor of the jail and as soon as her head touched the pillow she fell into a deep sleep. 


	4. Lies

Author Rambling:: I am so sorry about not getting this up sooner, as I know a few of you have stated in your reviews that you wanted more. Well I could go into a long description of how stressful collage can get..but I wont. However before I let you move on to the story I would like to answer one of your questions....  
  
"is this like a will and Lizzy romance and mara and jack romance just asking if not its all kewl :)"  
  
I was not really planning on making this a romantic story...and I was also considering leaving Liz out...but as Mara and Jack goes.....it MIGHT be...I don't know if I want to yet we shall just see how it goes....^_^  
  
Mara awoke gently from her deep sleep. The sun was shining through a window above her bed and bathed the small little room in a pleasant light. With a soft groan Mara sat up in her bed and stretched her arms over her head trying to shake off the sleepiness that still clung to her. Suddenly she realized something....this wasn't her bed. She climbed out of the bed quickly and began to look around her in a bit of a panic. Soon however she remembered all that had happened the previous night. She had been freed from her almost emanate fate of swinging from the gallows, but thrown into slavery. She wasn't entirely sure which was worse. With a heavy sigh Mara sat back down and felt her head sink down into her lap as she felt her eyes well up with tears.  
  
Before her first tear hit the ground there came a soft knock on the door. She looked up startled to find the man that had brought her home last night. She quickly whipped her eyes and stood up. "I am sorry I must have slept in late....." "No, its okay. I...um thought you would be hungry so I have some breakfast here..." Will said meekly from just beyond the door.  
  
Mara gave him a half hearted smile before reaching up and entwining a finger in a lock of hair and nervously twirling it about. A bad habit of hers, she could not help but think of her aunt who had always told her it would make her hair fall out one day. "Thank you..." She finally managed to say.  
  
Will opened the door farther with his foot and stepped in carrying a tray with a simple bowl of porridge. "Its not much but its something I suppose...." He commented as he set it down on the table next to the bed and calmly sat down next to her. "I don't mean to pry, but there are a few things that I am curious to know. Like how exactly did you become..." He paused for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing on. "A slave....."  
  
Mara folded her hands in her lap amongst her layered skirt and sighed. She was by no means going to tell him the truth. Who knew how he would react and after all Port Royal was known for is dislike of Pirates. She sat there quietly for a few moments as she thought of something acceptable that she could tell him. Finally an idea formed. "It's a long story....do you really want to here it?" She asked tilting her head to the side and giving him her best sad smile.  
  
Will nodded. "Yes....after all you are going to be staying with me for a while I would very much like to know a little about you. If you tell me your story, I will tell you mine." He said quietly giving her a gentle encouraging smile.  
  
"Well I suppose if you put it like that.....how could I refuse?" Mara said looking down at her hands in her lap. After a few moments of silence Mara looked up at Will and took a deep breath. "You see, may native land is Ireland, and people there aren't exactly the richest folk around. So when I came of age I started to work at the docks as a fish vendor. It may not have been the greatest job in the world, but I was happy. I could provide for my family there and that was enough for me....." She said whimsically as she looked off into thin air. "Well no good thing lasts forever, and so the day came our quite little seaside town was ransacked by pirates and I was taken captive...." Mara stood up from the bed and sighed wrapping her arms around her. She turned away from him to hide a small smile that turned up the corners of her mouth. The part about the pirates wasn't exactly a total lie after all she DID join a crew, she just left out the part of how she ran away from home and joined willingly. Finally whipping the smile from her face she turned back to Will. "From there I was sold to crew after crew until finally I ended up in the hands of this commodore Norrington...." She took a deep breath and covered her face with her hands as she forced herself to let out a chocked sob. There was a moment of silence and Mara feared that she had overdone it and he could see right through her, but instead she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and give her a gentle hug.  
  
"I am SO sorry.....leave it to me, but I shall find a way to help you." Will said trying to comfort her as he gave her a reassuring hug. He stepped back and looked at her to see what reaction she would have to his words.  
  
Mara was surprised at how he took it, she never expected him to react this way and suddenly she felt an unfamiliar pain in the pit of her stomach. It was guilt. Should she really have told him such a lie? Well it was a little to late to go back now she smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you, you have no idea how much it means to me..." Mara said quietly. Somehow it did mean a lot to her, no one had every said such a thing to her and strangle enough it came from a man that she hardly knew at all.  
  
They both stood there quietly as if waiting for something else to happen and when nothing did, Will laughed uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head. His gaze drifted about the room and finally it came back to Mara. "I...um...guess you should...eat your breakfast. After all you must be starved. Its not much but I promise its good..." With that Will quickly bowed and left the room and Mara.  
  
When he was gone Mara sighed and rubbed her forehead in disgust at herself. Look at what you have done! The one person who wanted to be your friend and help, you had to go and lie too! She thought angrily as she sat down and began to eat what was left for her. She took only the first bit before looking down in astonishment. It really was good!  
  
Dear Diary,  
Date unknown  
  
I have been living with Will Turner for two or three weeks now. Its amazing how time seems to go by so quickly here. Despite my title going from Captain to Slave, I really do enjoy his company. That is also the reason I have not gotten much time to write. I have been so busy, the life of a blacksmith is not an easy one. Especially for poor Will. Every day we wake up early and enjoy a quite breakfast before he starts work on his latest project. I try my best to help in any way I can, but most of the time all I end up doing it running errands for him or cleaning. My expertise is deffinatly not with irons. Once we are done with a days work we usually have some form of dinner, depending on how much money we had made. He usually does the cooking as well because I can not. I honestly did try one night, but lets just say it did not turn out as well as I would have hoped that it would. Will does not seem to mind though, I think he rather enjoys cooking. Well if my days had stayed like this I would suspect that I would have written more, but it had to change one day because of a simple mistake on my part.  
  
One day maybe a week or so ago, I am never sure anymore, I thought Will had left like he sometimes did on occasions to see his fair Elizabeth. So when I found myself alone my buccaneer instinct took over and I just had to try out one of Will's swords. It was quite beautiful I must say, pearl and gold inlayed handle. The balance was perfect, and it was sharpened to a deadly accuracy. I picked it up in my hands and swung it about feeling the familiar weight. Well I became rather involved in refreshing my memory with the blade, so I did not notice the creaking of the old wood door and the heavy steps of Will returning. Well when he found me with the sword I don't quite think he knew what to say. I had to quickly talk my way out of it. I told him that I had learned from one of my masters. Well ever since then after he is done working him and I would practice together. I do enjoy our time together, but it seems that Will asks more and more questions about my past. I fear that my lies will run into each other, but still I seem to evade him. Maybe some day I will manage to drum up the courage and tell him the truth.... 


	5. a change in pace

Yay new chapter already!! Cheers! And this one is longer then the rest so enjoy. Also as a side note I DO have pictures of Mara so if you are curious please by all means email me and I will send then to you! Oh and one more thing....it has come to my conclution that people wish to know who will end up with who...which for me is not decided..so if you have an idea e-mail me again!  
  
There came a load knock at the door just as Mara was finishing the last few sentences in her journal. She let out an irritated sigh and wiped the quill tip on the edge of her dress. Placing it down on the desk, she stood up and briskly walked over to the door to open it. Mara was happy that for once they had a customer but it was truly exasperating considering this was the first chance she had to sit down and write since she came to Will. With her best fake smile plastered on Mara opened the door. "Ello! And-" However as soon as she saw who stood behind the door her smile fell to a deep frown. "Well I am truly surprised that you are still here, now the question would be is Will still here? Or have you dispatched of him?" Norrington said with a grin. "I am not a murderer...." Mara hissed at him. "Good, well I didn't really come for tea or anything. I just thought I would grant you the curtsy of letting you say goodby to your first mate. I am afraid that we ran into a few problems with him, but now that everything is in place he will be hung tomorrow at dawn." Norrington said before giving her a small bow and leaving.  
Mara stood there speechless as she watched Norrington leave. Her mind was racing. He's still alive... he is still here in Port Royal. I have to do something, I cant just leave him there to die....Just as these thoughts flashed up in her mind there came a soft scraping noise of a foot on the stone floor. Mara turned and found standing behind her with a deep look of puzzlement Will. She wondered if he had heard the whole conversation. Surely if he did there would be no more lying to him about her past. Mara took a deep breath and steadied herself for the stream of questions. "Mara.........what was that all about?" Will asked quietly as he stood there and studied her with his dark penetrating eyes.  
Well that answered that question. He had been there the whole time, and now it was time for her to reveal herself. Just as she was about to answer him the idea of her first mate still alive and in the stockades stopped her. If she were going to do something it would have to be now...there was no time to wait if she planned to save him. However if she did she would have to leave Port Royal immediately. "Will...remember when you told me that you wished to help me..." "Yes..." He answered hesitantly. "I think it now would be a good time to follow up on that promise..." Mara turned and shut the door quickly, locking it behind her. She walked over to him and stood in square in front of him locking his gaze with her clear blue eyes. "I swear on everything that I hold dear, if you help me here and now, no questions asked I will answer ALL of your questions once we are safely out of Port Royal...."  
Will frowned and matched her strong gaze. He did not understand what was going on. Why was it Norrington came to visit her, and what did he mean first mate? Something inside him deep down told him Mara was a lot more the she made herself out to be. Her story of learning how to handle herself with a sword never did sit well with him. However Will sensed an urgency in her words and found that he could not deny her is help, even after it was obvious that she had feed him lies since the beginning. He gave her a small nod. "Okay...but you will answer me truthfully..." He warned her.  
Mara had been holding her breath for his answer, but exhaled in relief. "Thank you." She said quietly genuinely smiling up at him. "Okay...were going to need some swords...." She said with a little hint of excitement.  
Will hesitated for a moment but decided not to question her. "That I do believe we can handle." He said as he rushed over to the rack on the far side of the shop. On this rack he had displayed some of his finest work all laid out neatly awaiting any prospective buyers. He gave a sad laugh and picked two up. "I am afraid I am doomed when it comes to selling my wares...here" He tossed Mara one of the swords. "I know it is your favorite..." He said grinning as he grabbed his belt and sheath and slipped them around his waist as he placed his sword at his hip.  
Mara caught the sword in her right hand and looked down at it. It was the one with the gold and pearl handle. She looked up at him in surprise. "But..." "Just keep it...it will only stay on the shelf and gather dust otherwise..." Will said as he strode over to the door and unlatched it. He pushed open the door wide and breathed deep the warm night air.  
Mara smiled and tied the sword to her hip. "I shall make good use of it...." With that she joined Will at the door. There was a small pause as they both stood there in the doorway looking out into the night. Things were happening so fast but somehow knowing Will was at her side and ready to help calmed her thoughts slightly. "I guess we are off then?" Will asked looking over at Mara. Mara said nothing only gave him a slight nod before she walked out the door and into the night.  
  
The night was warm with a small pleasant breeze sending through the air the many different sounds and smells of Port Royal. Mara could smell someone cooking a stew in the building next to the blacksmith's. She took a deep breath taking in the rich aroma and wished feverishly that it were her and Will making that stew, but she shook the feeling and continued on as quickly as she could manage in her heavy skirts. It was a calm night with very little people on the streets. Most respectable people by now had returned home to there families. Mara and Will walked down the street quickly heading towards the fort on the harbor. "Mara...where are we going? At least tell me that much..." Will said from behind her. "Were going to the jail cells in the fort. If we do not, I am afraid someone I know will die..." Mara replied grimly. "Someone you know?" "Yes...."  
The way she said it meant for Will to drop the subject and he gladly did but he could not help but ask her one more thing. "Does this mean we are breaking someone out?" He could here Mara laughed. "No....of course not. Whatever gave you that idea? I just want to say goodbye before I let him die at the hands of the hangman."  
Will frowned slightly when he caught her sarcasm, but he said nothing. It was not worth arguing at that very moment, after all they did seem to be in a bit of a hurry. Whoever was being held in the jail must have been of great importance to Mara because she kept up an exhausting pace all the way down to the dock before turning down the main road and heading for the fort.  
Finally after there long walk from the Blacksmith's they reached the main gate of the Fort. At one side of the building there was a large heavy looking iron gate. That one would suspect was for moving troops and carriages in and out of. The other side however had a single plain wooden door. Beside it stood to sleepy looking guards. They were dressed in there bright red uniforms with muskets ready at there sides, the very symbol of her Majesty's troops. Mara could see the two solders head drop down slowly onto there chest the snap back up at attention only to slowly fall back down. Mara grabbed a hold of Will sleeve and pulled him off the main road into a scruffy looking bush growing at the roadside. "So what's the plan..." Will asked crouching down behind the bush.  
Mara gathered her skirts up around her knees to try in a frail attempted at keeping then clean as she crouched down next to Will. When she heard Will's question she bit her lip nervously and gave him a sheepish grin. "Actually......I was sort of making it up as I went along..." She admitted. Mara watched as Will made a gaging noise and had to catch himself before he fell over in surprise. "Well actually....um..." She tried to formulate a plan in her head as quickly as she could. "Okay I have one...we will need to split up. I shall go my way and sneak in to here and rescue my friend. You will go down to the docks and find a nice little boat we can borrow...then you will meet us down at the beach just the other side of this fort?"  
Will raised an eyebrow and gave Mara an odd look. Somehow despite him knowing she was more then what she seemed, he could just not see Mara taking out two guard and countless others in an attempt to rescue someone else. "You expect to rescue this person all by yourself? And why do we need a ship exactly?"  
Mara looked hurt. "Yes I do think I can manage thank you! I am not as frail as I may look William Turner! And we need a bloody boat because do you honestly think that after assisting in a break out we would not be hunted down and punished?" "Alright alright, you win....but just be careful! Norrington is not a fool...I don't think he would go very easy on you...." Will said still concerned as he stood up and brushed the dust off his trousers. "I know, he's my cousin!" Mara said and stood up as well not bothering with her skirts any longer. With that she waved her hand in farewell and walked off back towards the gate, leaving Will staring dumbfounded after her. 


	6. Escape

I am sorry that this update took so long but a lot of things in my life have been happening. It is only now that I have found time to write more. Thanks to all who are reading this.

Will stood there for a moment with his mouth slightly agape not exactly sure what he should do or say. Norrington's cousin was a female pirate? Now if that wasn't a twist of irony! The man who seemed to hate pirates the most was in fact related to one, no wonder Norrington left that part out when Mara was given to him. Finally after a few more moments Will brushed the shock from his face and started walking down to the docks. It was a little to late to stand and ponder ones situation now, especially since he had promised Mara he would find her a ship. His feet carried him swiftly down the docks scanning each ship as he walked by. Will might have only been a blacksmith, but he had been around ships long enough to know what they were looking for. Finally there came into his view a rather promising ship _The Phantom_. It was and interesting name but smaller then most of the other ships, however this did not deter him. Will could tell that it was fast perhaps not the fastest, but the best he could do on this short of notice. Silently he crept aboard to prepare the ship.

Mara moved quickly and silently in the dark creeping closer and closer to the large wooden doors the lead to the entrance to the jail. To her surprise there was not a single solider guarding it, no living being seemed to occupy the area. It seemed to easy if not a little careless on Norringtons part. She could feel every muscle in her body tense up as she slid out of the shadow and up to the door. It was a trap she thought as she placed her hands on the large door to open it. There was pause for a moment, but when Mara thought of her first mate, the single survivor of her crew she pushed the door open and went inside.

At first she could see a long set of stairs leading down into the dungeon but as the door slid shut Mara was plunged into darkness. Reaching out into the darkness she sought something to guide herself down and as her hand touched the cold stone of the wall she breathed a sigh of relief. Carefully she made her way down the steps and finally after what seemed like forever she reached the bottom. The room was illuminated by a single candle that gave off just enough light that Mara could see the she had indeed found the jail. However it was empty, except for one man…

"Norrington…" Mara growled as the figure stood up into the light. "Where is he?"

With a slightly cocky grin plastered on his face Norrigton stepped closer to her. "Nothing, we never had him to begin with dear cousin, you really were the only survivor. It was all just a ploy to get you here. After all I knew it would not have been long untill you ditched young Will.. Just thought I would plan ahead."

Mara step backwards towards the steps almost tripping on the first stair. "You really are low…" She hissed her eyes narrowed in anger. As carefully as possible she began to move slowly back up where she had come from but it was to no avail Norrington followed still wearing that damn smirk.

"You know your Aunt and Uncle never forgave you for running away, it nearly ruined them when your fiancé's family found out of your disappearance. They had put a lot of money into that match and your dowry… I guess I was angry with you as well you were my best friend…" Norringtons grin faded and he shook his head sadly. "I really missed you Mara. You were one of the only people I could really speak with back home."

"You know I did not love that man, It is I who shall never forgive you and your family for forcing me into marrying him…that's why I ran away, not because of you." Mara said quietly knowing that this was as good a chance as any to run. Before he could say another word she turned and barreled up the stairs blindly until she reached the door. With one great shove the door opened and Mara escaped out into the cold night air.

Norrington was not about to let her escape this easily he followed her up the stairs and throught the door but it was clear to him that when she reached the dock that he would not catch her. In desperation he pulled out his pistol and aimed.

There was a load crack and the smell of gun powder filled the air. To Mara's surprise there was this searing pain in her stomach but there was no time to stop and ponder what it was now. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her down the dock all the while feeling a stinging pain. Finally there at the edge of the dock there came a welcome face. It was Will and he had kept his promise.

"Mara where is your first mate?" He asked quizzically noticing that there was no one else following her.

"He dead…" She said grabbing Wills shirt and pulling him up the ramp of the ship.

"Dead? What happened? Was it a trap?" He asked following her up into the ship.

"It was a trap all right and Norrington was there, if I know him he'll be here any time now. So I think there should be less talk more sailing." She said flatly as she began to untie the ship from the dock. Suddenly Mara stopped as she could feel the pain in her stomach get worse, she went down to feel what it was and realized what had happened.

"Mara?" Asked Will with concern on his face. He had finished with getting the ship ready when he had realized that she had stopped.

Mara did not answer as she could feel her head swimming and her world becoming dark. With a slight thud on the deck she passed out her fresh gunshot wound now bleeding steadily.


End file.
